Chapter Six

He could feel the floor firm beneath him, at least he thought it was the floor, and tentatively he moved his left arm towards the agony burning in the rest of his body. There was no resistance and, wanting to act before the freedom was removed, he curled up into a tight ball, cushioning himself against anything else which might happen.

"Steve."

The voice was soft and warm and carefully he moved his head so that he could see her.

"Amanda … I'm … I'm sorry … you shouldn't … shouldn't be here." His voice cracked as he spoke, knowing that he was responsible for her being in such a dangerous position.

There was a slight smile in her voice as she replied; she could at least assuage his guilt a little. "This isn't your fault; she didn't take me because of you."

"What? Arghhh!" Her comment made him uncurl a little and his pain took advantage of that and shot through him causing the world to fade for a moment.

"Ron killed her dogs. That's why she took me."

"No!" The response wasn't what she had hoped for. At the mention of the vile creatures that her love had shot Steve began to shake. "No, God, no."

"Steve, shhh, it's alright, they're not here. It's just you and me." She lowered her voice a little more. "Just you and me."

"I … I can't do this … not again, not any more." His voice broke as he spoke and, curled up in his own little world, the tears came and he had nothing left within him to stop them.

ooo

"What? What is it, where are they?"

Doctor Bannerman's announcement had coursed through the room like an electric shock. Mark had recovered first and begun peppering the man with questions.

"Which part of LA are they in? Do you have an exact location? Jesse, get your medical bag."

"Mark, sit down, ok? Let me explain." The doctor looked round for a spare chair, then made himself comfortable at the table, and smiled in gratitude as Jesse handed him a cup of coffee.

For a moment it looked as if Mark was going to refuse to listen but, with as deep a sigh as his still injured chest would allow, he made himself comfortable once again in his seat.

"The reason we didn't get the noises right off was because they were sort of second hand."

"How do you mean?" Jesse looked at Bannerman, the interest shining in his eyes. He needed his friends back desperately but he was also intensely curious about how the man got his results.

"Amanda made her phone call from inside a building, so all the sounds we heard were sort of muffled. Also some of them were only half noises which the computer didn't get until I downloaded some new software. It also didn't get them until I got rid of all the bugs that the new programs caused which is why this has taken me so long."

"Half noises?" Ron looked at the man in front of him, he had no idea who he was but he smelt like a bonfire and was talking in riddles.

"If I picked this mug up and dropped it on the floor while you were talking on the phone, and it was taped, my computer would know what the noise was. No problem it's an easy one. But, if I dropped it just as you put the receiver down, I might get only the first millisecond of the sound, that's not so easy to work out."

"And you got half sounds?"

"Oh yeah, at the beginning of the call and again at the end, listen." He pulled a small Walkman style cassette player out of his pocket and plugged in two tiny speakers. Then he put the tape in and pressed play. Amanda's voice flooded the room and Ron clenched his fists underneath the table. He would not let these words be the last ones he heard her speak.

"The noise at the beginning is a heavy chain. Not the sort that you do up your gate with, I think it's the type that has those great big hooks on them …"

"Down by the docks!" It was Mark who cut in and as he did so he saw Cheryl opening up her cell phone.

"Maybe, it could be that, because the other sound, the one at the end of the tape, is part of a seagull's cry."

"This is Detective Sergeant Cheryl Banks, North Hollywood Division, patch me through to Harbor."

As Cheryl moved away into the corner of the room Ron, Mark and Jesse listened to the tape once more, all of them wanting to leave and start the search but knowing that they couldn't, not quite yet.

"There are other sounds on there, but you knew about them. We identified a train and a truck."

"I don't hear anything." Ron looked extremely sceptical as again his girlfriend's voice tore into his heart and took another piece of it.

"That's because you're listening to the voice. I'm not interested in what she's saying so she doesn't distract me."

"And you're sure, you're sure that it's a chain swinging and a seagull – why didn't I get the seagull? I've lived by the beach since Steve was eleven." Mark's excitement at finding a possible location for his son dipped a little as he realised he should have recognised the sounds much earlier.

"You didn't get it because it was a half sound. Now, we need a map and a pair of strong walking boots, there's a lot of harbor in LA." Doctor Bannerman drained his coffee cup and placed it down on the table just as Ron stood up.

"No need, I'll get the chopper. What're we looking for, chains, trucks, trains and birds?" This time it was Ron who made his way towards a quieter part of the room but Cheryl shook her head and he followed her back watching as she placed a hand on Mark's shoulder, causing him to jump in his seat.

"Sorry! I've been onto Harbor and they're gonna send patrols out with Melosa's picture as well as Steve and Amanda's. But I have to tell you there is over seven and a half thousand acres of land to cover with forty-three miles of waterfront. Time isn't gonna be on our side."

"Then we have to help ourselves. Jesse, you said that the officer was shot here, that Melo … she, she took Steve from here. We need the security film." Mark was on his feet as he spoke and it was apparent that although still in pain the fire was back and Cheryl and Jesse both knew they were about to put a dampener on things.

"Mark, the security team will be on night duty now. We won't be able to get the film analysed until the morning." Jesse saw his friend sag a little and his heart bled for him.

"Besides nothing is gonna be spotted tonight, Ron, can you get the chopper for first thing in the morning? The patrols will be increased then too and things can start to move again." Cheryl spoke quietly, hoping that would soften what she was saying.

"Yeah, I'll get that sorted." This time Ron was allowed to move away to make his call and Mark tried to control his emotions before speaking.

"Can't we try to find them tonight? The docks works twenty-four hours a day … we could at least drive around it a little bit." The desperation was back and although Jesse knew that Bannerman had done the best he could he still cursed him for taking so long.

"Mark, the noises are different at night; we could be real close and then drive right by them. Why don't you come back to my place with me? We'll get some sleep and be back here first thing to get the video figured out." Jesse was determined that his friend would at least rest away from the hospital and although he saw resistance in his eyes it wasn't as strong as he had feared it might be.

ooo

"I can't do this again … not any more … can't do it." He had been saying the same words over and over for the last few minutes and it seemed that he couldn't get past them to think about anything else. Gradually though he realised that something in the room was different again.

He knew that he was drifting in and out of consciousness, his pain tolerance levels weren't so high that he could cope with the agony which screamed at him from both his chest and his shoulder for very long before the world faded away. He had floated back a couple of times only to have forgotten where he was and what had happened to him. Then the pain had reminded him and the horror had enveloped him once again. Now though, it was dark and he was certain that time, quite a lot of time, had passed.

Mark's face came up in his mind and he tried to keep it there, to gain strength from it. Part of him wanted to call for his dad, to plea for his release but he knew that when Melosa came back into the room he would do neither. But now, while he had the freedom to let his guard down, he needed to hear his friend's voice, which was so soothing and soft as she spoke to him. "Amanda … help me … can't do this." He waited, but the room stayed silent.

"Amanda?" Again there was no reply and trying to prepare himself mentally for the agony that moving would entail Steve looked around and, even though the room was dark, saw to his horror that he was about to spend the night alone.

ooo

"What do you mean you haven't got to it yet?" Mark's words exploded out in a fury and he saw the head of hospital security look on in disbelief first at his subordinate and then at Ron who had taken a menacing step towards the guard on duty in the video feed room.

The night had passed at a snail's pace and Jesse had been relieved to be back at the hospital. Mark hadn't slept well, getting up and moving from room to room, bookcase to bookcase during the night and, in the end, he had felt obliged to get up and wait with him.

Ron and Cheryl both looked as if they had at least slept but neither of them were fresh either.

The voice of the security guard on duty was almost childishly stubborn as he answered Mark's question. "We had two purse snatchers and a flasher in the lobby I have to give these things the priority I think they deserve. They happened first."

"My son was kidnapped and a police officer was gunned down. How can that come third behind two muggers and a pervert?"

"Doctor, you do your job to the best of your ability and I'll do mine. Now, do you want to see the tape or not?"

The man, who had the name Jenkins on his shirt, held the video tape just out of reach of Mark's hands as he spoke, but almost jumped out of his skin as Ron snatched it off him from behind.

"I suggest you move aside or I'll arrest you for obstructing the course of justice." His voice and posture showed that Ron meant business and suddenly Mr. Jenkins found that he really needed to be concentrating on things on the other side of the room.

"What's with this guy?" Jesse looked at Mark and could see the despair returning to his eyes.

"He … I … it was never meant to hurt Steve. Again, I did it again." The words made no sense at all and Jesse, suddenly concerned for his friend, guided him towards the door by his arm. "Ron, you know what you're looking for. Find it. We'll be back."

"I apologise, Doctor Sloan, he'll find himself working the security detail in the garbage area by lunchtime." The man who Jenkins worked under was known to everyone as just Bill. He watched as the two doctors left the room and then turned towards where Ron was sitting. "Let me set this up for you." Then he slid the video into the machine and pointed to the correct monitor. "What time did you say this happened?"

ooo

The security room was just off the main lobby of the hospital and Jesse took Mark through it and into the first free consulting room he found, making sure that he put the busy sign on the door.

"Mark, I want you to just sit for a minute and then tell me what you meant in there." Although the words had worried Jesse it was his friend's continued descent back into despondency which had caused him to remove Mark and try to speak with him.

"I can't sit here. We have to find them, Jess. We have to find them." Although the words were the type he had hoped for there was no movement with them, it was almost as if Mark was saying what he thought Jesse wanted to hear.

"Ok. And we will. But as your doctor, Mark, I'm worried about you. Yesterday you were ready to lead the investigation now I'm losing you again. We need your help to find Steve and Amanda. But if it's gonna cause you too much pain then I'll admit you to the hospital and find them without you. I'm sorry." Jesse didn't think he had ever spoken in such a way to his boss before but he knew it needed to be said.

"No, Jesse, please. It's just …" Mark paused, he knew how his actions looked, and if it had been anyone else behaving as he was he would have done just as Jesse was threatening to.

"It's just what? You have to tell me, Mark, before it breaks you."

He nodded, knowing that again the younger doctor was right. "Everywhere we go with this I'm making it worse for Steve." He'd said it; he couldn't take it back, now Jesse would know that all of this was his fault.

"What? No, Mark, she's the one to blame, her and her brother. Mando killed that woman and then blamed it on Denise. No law-abiding citizen who worked that out could let it pass. You just did what anyone else would have done."

"No, I didn't. Anyone else would have left it up to the police. Look at me, Jess; I'm a doddery old fool who should know better. I told Steve and I'll tell you too. I'm gonna resign. Give it all up. Let you do your job without my interfering, and Steve too. I can't even mind my own business enough to get a video played urgently."

"You've lost me totally now. Steve won't want you to resign and I sure don't. Mark, you are an excellent doctor, I wouldn't want anyone else on my case, and Steve, he wants you to work with him. Don't you think he would have said something if he didn't? He brings cases home; he discusses things freely with you because he wants to. He loves you and he wants your unique slant on life. He will never solve cases like you do because he just can't think that way. But he doesn't only need your help he wants it. We all do." Jesse stopped talking, blushing suddenly as he realised how passionate he had become.

"Thanks, Jesse." Mark smiled but then saw that he was still confusing his friend and his heart fell again as he heard him speak.

"But I still don't see how any of that makes Jenkins keep back the video."

"A while ago, I don't know, might even be a coupla years, before Bill came, so he wouldn't make the connection, we were losing supplies from one of the closets in the ER, I didn't say anything to anyone so you wouldn't have known about it. There was nothing huge taken, a few packs of pain killers here, rolls of gauze there, a fire extinguisher disappeared as well if I remember correctly. Well it was Jenkins. I took it upon myself, because I just couldn't stop!" His voice rose for a moment but then it lowered and he carried on, "I set up a separate camera in the storeroom. He was disconnecting the official one and taking the supplies. They were for his personal use, nothing very terrible and I didn't want him to lose his job. He got reprimanded and when the head of department vacancy came up he applied but didn't get it, Bill did. So I guess he thought this was a good way to get back at me and once again Steve suffers!" Mark slammed his fist down onto the table in front of him and set off an aftershock of pain which left him breathless.

"Whoa, look, I would really like you to be in one piece when we find Steve this time, ok? Things like that aren't gonna help."

The guilt of what had happened previously joined the pain as it coursed through him but Mark shut it away. He would find his son, Jenkins had been dishonest, and Mando and Melosa Arriaga were killers. Jesse was right, he couldn't just stand by and Steve wouldn't expect him to. But this time when they rescued Steve he would be there, right there, to bring him home. That determination broke through his despair and he gave himself a mental shrug. He knew he wasn't himself and wouldn't be until his son was safe, but he had to get back to the video screening, Steve was counting on him and this time he wouldn't let him down.

ooo

"Amanda?" He had said her name over and over during the night and by using that, along with picturing his father and Jesse, had managed to stop his panic from overwhelming him. As the sun had come up he straightened himself out and gradually, stopping each time the pain got too much, managed to use the chain which had held her to pull himself to his feet but still he didn't know what had happened to her. There was blood on the floor by the cuffs she had worn and he had no way to tell whether it was his or Amanda's.

Finally he realised that he must have been out cold when Melosa had come back and taken Amanda the previous day. How could he face his dad or Jesse if she had been killed? And Ron, Steve let out a groan, the FBI man would be suffering more than he would ever let on just because she was missing, if she was dead, then Steve knew that Ron would die too, little by little, until he was no longer the man any of them would recognise as their friend.

Standing up, and the extra pain it caused him, was making Steve grow dizzy but he refused to sit, or collapse to the floor, he had to think this through. For a moment though he leant his head against the wall of the room and as he did so he felt something underneath his bare foot. Carefully he looked down and there, by his toes, was a clump of her hair, the rich dark brown tresses shone, even in the dusty light of the room, and a lump came up in his throat. Melosa had taken Amanda away and killed her. She'd shot a cop in cold blood, killed Denise Steiner's assistant, as well as the young woman who had scared him so at the hospital. The police officer inside of him knew that she would have no qualms about killing Amanda.

The knowledge that he was responsible for the death of one of his best friends' was the final piece of information that his shattered being could cope with and, despite the agony they caused him, his tears came again and then he fell to the floor calling out her name as he did so.

ooo

Cheryl had checked back with the switchboard of the hospital and discovered that Doctor Sloan had called his son just after twelve noon the previous day. She knew that he had left the station almost immediately and that it took approximately twenty minutes to get to the parking lot of Community General if the traffic was good. It had been the beginning of the lunch hour though and so she thought probably more like a journey time of three quarters of an hour. The ER records showed that the officer from the parking lot who, she knew, was called Harry Rimett, had been treated by Doctor Martin at a little after ten past one but there was no proof, apart from the tape, to show how long he had lain undiscovered and unattended. He was now in the ICU his recovery still by no means guaranteed but he was alive and she knew Alex was hopeful he would survive.

Bill had listened to the maths and then nodded. "Ok, let me fast forward this. The time and date is in the right hand corner of the screen, at the bottom, see?"

They did see and, as the two law enforcers watched, the figures rushed by until finally, when Bill pressed the pause button, it said twelve eighteen. "That's close enough. I'll run it through at high speed until we see something interesting then I'll slow it up. Let's go."

The comings and goings of one section of the parking lot came up in front of them. Cheryl's call to the ER had also got the exact location where the young officer had been found. Now all eyes were on that part of the hospital grounds as every vehicle was scanned for a driver who looked like the picture which, Bill noticed, the slightly menacing FBI agent held tightly in his hand.

Cheryl had excused herself from the screening party for a couple of minutes to keep in touch with her Captain who had been calling every quarter of an hour since she had left the station that morning to continue with the search.

"There, that green BMW has a woman driver." Ron pointed at the screen and they all looked closely as the tape slowed, but seemed to deflate as an obvious blonde climbed out and then disappeared from the shot.

The silence returned as the cars and figures sped back up until they looked like something from an old black and white movie. Ron was getting more and more frustrated and wasn't sure that he could watch very much more of this in company when the door opened quietly and Mark and Jesse came back into the room.

"Hi, guys, how's it going?" Mark's voice sounded almost as it usually did and Jesse smiled a relieved smile as he watched him take up his place in front of the monitors.

"Nothing yet, but it was lunch time he might have still been travelling." Cheryl could see that Mark had pulled himself back together and she looked at Jesse. She was getting more and more impressed with how he behaved under pressure. Now wasn't the time to mention it though and so the room once again descended into silence until the figures were showing a few seconds before one o'clock when a large black SUV pulled into a parking space just on the perimeter of the camera's range. This time as the film slowed down there could be no mistaking the driver of the car and the tension in the room seemed to increase enormously.

No one spoke and in the stillness the clock in the right hand corner of the screen carried on changing until at 1:05.23 a black and white police car drew up in the centre of the shot and the driver and passenger side doors opened. All eyes remained glued to the screen as Melosa Arriaga stepped up by the side of Officer Rimett and they saw Steve climb into the SUV and disappear before the young cop fell and the gun went off.

It took a few seconds before Bill was able to lean forward and rewind the tape back to the beginning of the scene again. This time he slowed it right down to show the film frame by frame and all of them realised at the same moment that, when she parked, Melosa had left the licence plate of the vehicle clear for them to see.